WHO OR WHAT ARE THE LOCUSTS OF REVELATION CHAPTER 9?

 

The appearance of the grasshoppers was similar to horses ready for war. On their heads they had crowns of gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women's hair and their teeth were like dandelions. Their chests were like armor of iron, and the sound of their wings was like that of chariots drawn by many horses rushing to battle. They had tails and stingers like those of scorpions, and in their tails was their power to harm men for five months. Their king was the angel of the abyss whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollion – Revelation 9:7-11 New International Version

 

Among the most difficult subjects to interpret in the book of Revelation, a place of honor is certainly occupied by the locusts described in chapter nine.

In the past this blog interpreted the same as “strong denunciations from the king of the north” – compare Daniel 11:30

The reason for this interpretation seemed logical.

These locusts do not kill but torment and this occurs in a time of tension between the opposing powers, just before the outbreak of a terrible war - see Revelation 9:13-20

We had already understood that this plague was aimed at Israel and, knowing that it would be the real cause of the outbreak of all wars in the time of the end, we had concluded that these created the expedient for the outbreak of the same, a sort of serious provocation – Revelation 18:24

Obviously, however, this interpretation left several questions open.

Meanwhile, if it was a provocation by anyone why see an army of locusts?

Any symbolic description should have had a single subject (the king of the north or whoever) and not thousands or millions of subjects - see Revelation 9:2

Also why did these denunciations come from the angel of the abyss? - Revelation 9:11

And why would such a description have been made of these locusts – hair like women, dandelions, etc – to the point of even having crowns on their heads if we were talking about anonymous denunciations?

It was clear that something was wrong.

Recently, however, we have made several advances on other prophetic subjects, such as the 70 weeks, which have further broadened our overview giving us important starting points for reflection on this subject.

This understanding will lead us to modify another belief that we have so far taken for granted and we will need to be "of a noble mind"... but let's proceed in order - Acts 17:11

Before understanding who or what these locusts are, let's try to understand what they are not.

It seems trivial but since some believe it may be literal locusts, a plague that is not new in biblical history, let us try to focus on the reasons that lead us to categorically exclude this possibility - Exodus 10:12

Meanwhile, locusts do not sting: these are described with "stingers like scorpions".

It cannot be asserted that the sting described indicates the fact that millions or billions of locusts, ruining fields of wheat, vegetables, fruit and so on, would cause pain due to the terrible famine that would follow, as the scripture specifies very clearly that they " they do not harm the grass of the earth, nor the greenery, nor the trees, but only men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads” – Revelation 9:4

So they have a sting, they know exactly who to sting and who doesn't, and they don't eat grass or vegetables. Are they locusts?

 

Who are the locusts of Revelation 9?

To this let us add their description: golden crowns on the head, a man's face, hair like a woman's, dandelions, a chest like an iron breastplate… .

Those who claim that it is a plague of literal locusts often forget that they have to at least try to explain all these "details".

And finally, if all this still wasn't enough to show that they can't be literal locusts, Revelation still tells us that they have a king over them and "their king was the angel of the deep" - Revelation 9:11

Coincidentally, the Word of God points out what might seem obvious but which in this context is enlightening: locusts - the real, literal ones - have no king - Proverbs 30:27

So they are not locusts and they are not denunciations from the king of the king of the north.

What are?

The star that fell to earth

Let's pick up chapter nine from the beginning: we are at the trumpet call of the fifth angel .

The first difference we notice with the first four trumpets is that the fifth is also the first of three woes announced by the eagle and we had already covered this aspect – see Revelation 8:13; 9:12 the first woe; Revelation 11:14 the second woe; Revelation 12:12 the third woe

Let's be careful: another important difference is that while the first three mention celestial bodies or stars falling to the earth at the moment in which the trumpet sounds, the fifth speaks of a star "that had fallen" or "had already fallen" on the land, i.e. formerly.

The New Review translates as follows: “Then the fifth angel blew the trumpet and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit – Revelation 9:1

Scripture does not say that at the sound of the trumpet a star falls to earth which is then given the key to the abyss but that this star had already fallen to earth .

So what is the celestial body that has already fallen to earth previously and to which the keys to the abyss are entrusted?

It is the one described in Revelation 8:10, 11 which says: “Then the third angel blew the trumpet and a great star fell out of heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell upon a third of the rivers and upon the springs of waters. The name of the star is Absinthe; and a third of the waters became wormwood. Many men died because of those waters, because they had become bitter."

Realizing that the star described here is the same one that will open the bottomless pit, we can now make some interesting connections.

Absinthe-Abaddon against false prophets

The first mention of wormwood in the Holy Scriptures is found in Deuteronomy 29:17, 18 which says: “Let there not be among you man or woman or family or tribe today that turns his heart away from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations; let there be no root among you that produces poison and wormwood. No one, after hearing the words of this oath, deludes himself in his heart saying: "I will have peace, even if I walk according to the stubbornness of my heart". In this way whoever has drunk heavily leads to perdition even whoever is thirsty".

We see that the connection with water and drinking is also evident.

The commandments first and then the Law strictly warned Jews against serving other gods – Exodus 20:2, 3; Exodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 6:14; 2 Kings 17:35

The scripture at Proverbs 5:3, 4 associates the adulterous woman with wormwood and says that going her way will lead to death.

Surely the most significant scriptures are those of Jeremiah who say: «Because these have forsaken my law which I had set before them, and they have not listened to my voice, nor have they followed it in their conduct, but have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them." Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people wormwood, and give them poisoned water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations which neither they nor their fathers have known; I will send after them the sword, until I have consumed them" - Jeremiah 9:13-16

“Prophets and priests are wicked, in my own house I have found their wickedness,”
says the LORD. “Therefore their way will be to them as slippery places in the midst of darkness; they will be pushed into it and will fall; for I will bring calamity upon them
in the year that I visit them, says the LORD. «I had well seen senseless things among the prophets of Samaria;
they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people Israel astray. But among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen wicked things: they commit adultery, they act hypocritically,
they strengthen the hand of evildoers, to the point that no one converts from his wickedness;
all of them are to me like Sodom, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, like those of Gomorrah."
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will make them eat wormwood, and make them drink poisoned water; for from the prophets of Jerusalem wickedness has spread throughout the whole land" - Jeremiah 23:11-15

The plague caused by the third angel, therefore, concerns the punishment that false prophets receive but also a good part of those who followed them.

The scripture says that “a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died because of those waters, because they had become bitter” – Revelation 8:11

At a first reading one could conclude that the third trumpet is already directed towards Israel because in fact all these scriptures concern, as it is logical that it is, the people of God.

Deuteronomy 29:17 in fact says "Let there not be among you (i.e. the people of Israel) man or woman or family or tribe today who turns his heart away from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations..." but if the subject causing this plague is also the perpetrator of the plague described by the locusts, and the target subject is still the same, then it does not seem logical for them to die first and then be tormented.

The warning not to go after other gods was given to the entire people of Israel , before the famous division between the northern and southern kingdoms and indeed… that was the very main reason that led to their division and dispersion – 1 Kings 11:30 -33

In fact Jeremiah reminds us that God "had well seen senseless things among the prophets of Samaria who prophesied in the name of Baal" - Jeremiah 23:11

We have also seen that the Ephraimites will play a fundamental part in the fulfillment of the prophecies (see the article entitled "When Ephraim returns home") and consequently we must conclude that the third trumpet is turned against God's people but not that which is in Israel, but that which is scattered among the nations.

The tribes scattered among the nations must return

The covenant that God made with the seed of Israel was eternal and unchangeable, and although in the past, for a time, He no longer held such ignorance into account, in the period when pure worship is being restored, He will obviously hold accountable for those of His people who have broken the Law – Acts 17:30, 31

We may note that Scripture neither excuses nor justifies their serving other gods just because this is what they were taught by their fathers ( see Jeremiah 9:14) rather…they still should have made sure of God's perfect will, even if they could have done it in a limited way – compare Proverbs 2:1-5; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 13:5

We also remember that in that period the time of the end will be advanced and there will be some preaching to save but also to judge the tribes of Israel - John 3:19-21

These people will have had some witness from the firstfruits of God who are the 144,000 but also members of the great crowd.

We can therefore assert that the star that falls on the earth, called Absinthe, will strike the false prophets and many followers of these religions who have Jewish origins and consequently should not have followed other gods.

How will they be affected?

We don't know but the scripture makes it clear that from a certain moment on, "drinking the water of the false prophets", that is, following their teaching, will lead many to death.

Since in the past God brought the sword among his rebellious people, we can hypothesize that there will be some generalized religious persecution or that an evil decision by religious ministers will lead many faithful to death.

In the article titled “Catastrophes Heralding the Coming of God's Judgment” we saw how likely it is that several scriptures have multiple fulfillment because, at least for the hail and fiery boulder, the description takes us back to meteorites or asteroids impacting on earth as a man of old would have explained it – compare Judges 5:20, 21

After these impacts there will be talk of the sun and moon and stars diminishing their light by a third and this also appears to be the result of water vapor raised by one or more meteorites that fell into the sea - see Revelation 8:12

Obviously, however, the sun, the moon and the stars also indicate angels and people and luminaries of this world (compare Genesis 37:9: Isaiah 24:21-23; Job 38:7; Jude 11-14) so ​​it is obvious to think that these judgments will cloud institutions and human wisdom: many men will lose confidence in them - Psalm 146:3

The Absinthe star affects a specific category of people: false prophets in the first place and many of their followers.

When many people die for following these prophets and religions, we can imagine that a general revival among the survivors will follow.

What kind of awakening?

Of course, they will lose faith in these "luminaries" and will without a doubt leave the "religion of their fathers", abandoning the Baals, for at that point it will be evident not only their hypocrisy but also their absolute lack of knowledge and insight.

Also, as we have said, pure worship will be being restored during that time through a preaching work to the nations.

From this we can begin to understand the identity of locusts and their purpose.

As we had already seen in the articles dedicated to Ephraim, it will be taught that it is God's will that they return to the promised land - see Ezekiel 37:15-20

They are entitled to the promised land by right as Abraham's seed while most of the inhabitants who will occupy Israel in that period will turn out to be squatters.

The squatters will have to leave the splendid country or they will die there!

The efforts of certain “Jews” to keep them out of the land will prove in vain when millions of Ephraimites and all other tribes scattered among the nations, after being shaken and punished for following other gods, will invade the splendid land en masse, taking with them a terrible message of judgment.

Their sting will be just that: not only will they reveal the lies of Jewish religious ministers (who teach, among other things, that Ephraim has already returned) but also that God's judgment will come upon all squatters as well as those Jews who will not conform to His will.

Imagine that your city is invaded by millions of people who openly claim to be the real inhabitants of the country and that you will be kicked out or you will die.

This condemnation, especially if it had some basis in truth, would torment you a lot!

Obviously this plague will not touch the sealed ones first of all because they have not deceived anyone by not sharing any guilt with the prostitute, but secondly because any sealed ones present in the splendid land will be destined not for life on earth but for life in heaven.

When the locusts return to holy ground to remain there, the sealed ones will no longer be on earth.

Of course this explanation addresses the sting and suffering of the inhabitants… but why should they be summoned or gathered by the very angel of the abyss?

How do they come out of the abyss?

The Valley of Dry Bones

As we have seen in the articles dedicated to Ephraim, the tribes of the northern kingdom have been scattered among the nations for over 2700 years.

This is a really huge time!

They were condemned long ago and “died” losing their relationship with God, pure worship, and their Jewish identity.

Would there still be hope for them?

After 2700 years, is it reasonable to believe that God would have remembered them?

Well, we reiterate once again what the terms of the pact were.

"When all these things that I have set before you, the blessing and the curse, will be fulfilled for you and you will remember them in your heart wherever the LORD your God drives you into the midst of the nations and you will turn to the LORD your God, and you shall obey his voice, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, according to all that I command you today, the LORD your God will bring yours back from bondage He will have mercy on you and gather you again from among all the peoples, among whom the LORD your God has scattered you. Even if your exiles were at the ends of the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and take you from there. The LORD your God will bring you back to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.; and he will do you good and multiply you more than your fathers” – Deuteronomy 30:1-5

In these scriptures do we perhaps notice a footnote indicating a time limit for the return of the disobedient?

Does it say “I will bring you back if you repent within 100 years” or something like that?

Obviously not: the only conditions, without time limits, would have been obedience and repentance.

After 2700 years of loss of identity and inactivity it can be said that they will come out of the abyss!

The angel of the abyss will pull them out, awaken them.

The terrible plague that will strike the false prophets and many of their followers will give the remnant an opportunity to reflect on the will of the God of their forebears and repent.

In Ezekiel we read... “ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and the LORD carried me away by the Spirit and laid me in the middle of a valley full of bones. He made me pass by them, all around; lo, they were very numerous on the surface of the valley, and they were also very dry.
He said to me, "Son of man, could these bones live again?" And I replied: "Lord, GOD, you know it".
He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!' Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Behold, I will bring spirit into you, and you shall live; I will put sinews upon you, I will cause flesh to be born upon you, I will cover you with skin, I will put spirit within you , and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD." I prophesied as he was commanded me; and as I prophesied, a noise was made; and here was a movement: the bones approached each other. I looked, and behold, muscles came upon them, and flesh grew upon them, and skin covered them; but there was no spirit in them.
Then he said to me: "Prophesy to the Spirit, prophesy son of man, and say to the Spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Come from the four winds, O Spirit, blow on these slain, and make them alive!' ». I prophesied, as he had commanded me, and the Spirit entered them: they came to life and stood on their feet; they were a large, very large army.
He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dry, our hope is gone, we are lost!" Therefore prophesy and tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will open your graves, and I will bring you out of your graves, my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you out of your graves, my people, and put my Spirit within you, and you shall live; I will lay you upon your ground, and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and I have done it," says the LORD" - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Let us reflect carefully on these scriptures.

Despite what it might appear on a superficial reading, these scriptures are not at all about the resurrection because you understand it from the context.

Meanwhile, the resurrection takes place for everyone and not just for the house of Israel - see Revelation 20:13

In this context the house of Israel is distinct from the house of Judah, indicating precisely Ephraim and the other dispersed tribes - compare 1 Samuel 18:16; 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Chronicles 30:1

The dead obviously do not speak but these dead say "our hope has vanished" as if to say "God has forgotten us" and finally it is enough to read the following scriptures to understand what we are talking about.

If we continue reading the following verses, in fact, we will speak of " Judah and the sons of Israel who are associated with him" and of " Ephraim and all the house of Israel who are associated with him " which would have returned to being a thing alone as it was in the beginning – see Ezekiel 37:16-28

What is he talking about, then?

Obviously of the reviving of the dispersed tribes after almost 3000 years; tribes that might have seemed godforsaken, dead, hopeless.

The bones, in fact, are very dry.

In the time of the end the Only true God, the One who can do everything and does not forget, will bring all these people out of the abyss through his angel.

Once revived and awakened they will occupy the promised land carrying with them a stern message of doom.

They have dandelions which indicate strength and courage, but also justice as their message is right because it comes from God.

Furthermore, dandelions are as much a message of judgment - Judges 14:18; 2 Samuel 17.10; Psalm 22:13

Also it will take courage to carry that message but “the lion shrinks from no one” - Proverbs 30:30; Isaiah 31:4

The breastplate also emphasizes their righteousness as well as genuine faith because it will take faith to do all that they will be asked to do – compare Ephesians 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Finally they have "hair like women" as they obey their mandate in all respects and are subject to it without counting the connection with the Nazirites, who were separated from God for a special assignment - 1 Corinthians 11:10, 15; see also Lamentations 4:7; Amos 2:11 (see footnote)

Later we will explain why each of them has crowns on their heads.

In addition to the open condemnation that they will have the task of bringing, is there any other reason why all these people will have to occupy Israel right at that time, i.e. in advance of the final exodus?

Temporary protection for Israel and new dispersion

In the third video or article dedicated to the 70 weeks we saw an interesting connection with the universal flood.

We understood the duration of the war described in the first half of the last prophetic week thanks to the description of the strong angel in chapter ten – see Revelation 10:1

It is easy to remember that while the flood destroyed all living creatures except marine ones, those inside the ark, both men and animals, saved their lives.

If we think that despite this terrible world war the builders will be able to rebuild both Jerusalem and the Temple… then it is obvious that the whole city, and probably a large part of the nation, will benefit from a certain protection.

It may not be fully protected as it was in the ark, but in fact the city and temple will be able to be rebuilt despite the troubled times and it is God's will that this happen - Daniel 9:25

Even though we know that God will not permit the extermination of mankind, let us not forget that there will still be a terrible war.

This adds another possible reason why locusts will flock to Israel a few months before this war breaks out: that will be the last time you can receive protection.

However they, although marked by the plague of Wormwood, unlike the large crowd that has already been saved during the seals, have not yet passed their great tribulation to be refined and purified.

Here it becomes immediately clearer why only from a certain point onwards does the scripture speak of the "outer courtyard of the temple": "but the outer courtyard of the temple, leave it aside, and do not measure it, because it was given to the nations, the who shall trample the holy city for forty-two months” – Revelation 11:2

The courtyard appears seemingly out of nowhere; prior to this scripture there is no mention of the same in the book of Revelation… but now the Temple is completed and, as it stands to reason, “the courtyard” must also be present, which are precisely these people gathered from many nations .

Their message of open condemnation finished, a message that has not touched the sealed ones, they will again be scattered among the nations probably before or during the preaching of the two sackcloth-clad witnesses begins.

Once the work of the two witnesses is finished, "the courtyard" will be given to the nations - that is, it will be persecuted for the last three and a half years - during which Jerusalem will continue to be trampled on by the illegal immigrants of the nations.

Towards the final stages of this satanic system they will return no longer as locusts but as “kings from the east” or “from the rising sun”…

And that is why all these are described with crowns on their heads.

These people will certainly have positions of responsibility during the exodus and probably during the following millennial reign – see the article “Who are the kings from the rising sun?”

During the final exodus they will be accompanied and will accompany several other people.

So in summary… who are the locusts of chapter 9 of Revelation?

They are mostly Ephraimites scattered among the nations but not the components of the great crowd which is already saved and approved by the sixth seal and certainly must not come out of false religion.

They will be the "kings from the east" who will return later, during the final exodus, bringing with them the remnant of scattered Israel.

Finally, the most attentive readers will have noticed that this article creates a clear difference between the great crowd who are saved within the sixth seal and the Ephraimites who have emerged from the abyss who will initially reveal themselves as locusts and then as kings from the East.

How does our understanding of the great crowd change?

Aren't they also Ephraimites?

Why are they not included among the kings from the east?

These questions will be answered in the next article.

Article written on 01/11/2021

 

Footnote . 

It is probable that, at least initially, they are the majority of the members of the tribe of Dan, which in fact is not present in the list of those who belong to the 144,000 chosen as firstfruits.

We deduce this both from their role and from their appearance.

The role of the Danites was in fact that of judges and in an interesting prophetic writing they are compared to "little lions" (Deuteronomy 33:22). 

Samson himself was a Danite and therefore a judge, as well as a famous Nazirite. 

The long hair of these locusts would seem to bring us back to them.

However, since in Ezekiel we have seen that the exit from the abyss concerns the children of Israel in general and not exclusively the Danites, it is probable that Scripture wants to indicate to us that they, the Danites, will have a primary role in this message of condemnation .

 

Article written on 01/11/2021